What happened next is that my sister went deep into her naturalist role and tracked the baby owl on several occasions taking lots of pictures. She showed them to me on her computer and we started making up names for the baby. We decided the baby was a girl but later on re-decided that she was a boy. I'll explain that later.

Then my sister started sharing all her scientific knowledge about owls with me-feathers and how they grow; relationship with parent owls or guess who's the boss; how owls undanger their worlds; places owls like to call home; owl food shopping and so interestingly on. Her tendency to teach owl stuff grew as she continued to track our own particular owl. And that part is really interesting.

She visited the owl site many times and saw them many times. But the two best visits were during a storm and at night's end. The storm visit was amazing. She was at the grove silently whistling her way through her search and set up gear time when one of those freaky spring thunder and lightning events began to whiz through the area. How would the owls react, she wondered. The parents did what they could to keep baby calm with soothing owl reassurances but couldn't help but freak out so that suddenly they were clinging talon tight to the trunks of the home trees as the wind, noise, flashes and then a monstrous rain began to become the definition of home rather than spring breeze carrying wildflower scents.
The owls were maximally stressed and Sister retreated to the shelter in the meadow next to the grove to squeegie the rain off her own self, pack up her gear and make for her car. She felt strongly that she shouldn't stick around any longer in a small effort to relieve the stress of the owls in the storm. They shouldn't have to worry about her, she thought, as they worked so hard to keep themselves birdbodily together as they tried to fight their way through the storm.

So she left them to it. Driving home, she worried about the effect of the storm on the owls, particularly the baby. Would it survive? Would Sister see them again?